The Diviners

The Diviners Series, Book 1

SOMETHING DARK AND EVIL HAS AWAKENED. . . .Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It's 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho is hiding a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark...

“There is no greater power on this earth than story.” Will paced the length of the room. “People think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsense—words do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutions—words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.” Will grabbed the sheaf of newspaper clippings he kept in a stack on his desk. “This, and these”—he gestured to the library’s teeming shelves—“they’re a testament to the country’s rich supernatural history.”

Comment

I loved everything about this title! The main character is energetic and funny, although I must say the narrator makes her even better. I have read and listened to this title and just thought the recorded version was fantastic! There is good diversity with the characters and interesting twists and turns, both with the occult murders and the interpersonal relationships.

I just could not finish this book, though I love Libba Bray and I am a fan of historical fiction. I felt like she was beating me over the head with, "golly gee-it is the 1920s!" and I had enough of it. Her descriptions of the era and the annoying speech patterns of the characters would be better as a description in a screenplay. I really didn't care much for the main character Evie or anything else that was going on. The reader, on the other hand, was excellent!

An amazingly addictive story, considering its breadth and depth. I wanted to be annoyed when I realized at the end of the book that easily half the characters and plot elements were introduced simply to lay the foundation for the bigger series that will follow, but I enjoyed this episode too much to complain. A storm is coming, and in some ways this was merely a 600 page prelude to what will follow. But what a prelude. Vibrant, energetic history of the party culture of the Roaring Twenties in New York City woven into a creepy-crawly mystery of ritualistic murder and the supernatural, experienced through the perspectives of an appealing cast of complex characters. I'm ready for more.
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And January LaVoy does an amazing job with the audiobook reading.

"After humiliating her parents with her unrestrained behaviour at a party, privileged young Evie O'Neill is sent to live with her eccentric uncle in New York City - a "punishment" that utterly delights Evie, who can't wait to mix with Ziegfield girls and sneak into some big-city speakeasies (it's the Roaring Twenties). But when her Uncle Will, curator of the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, is called on to help solve a rash of bizarre, other-worldly murders, Evie is drawn in to the investigations because of a special ability she's tried to keep secret. Full of vivid period detail and intriguing characters and shot through with shiver-inducing menace, this sprawling opener of a new series by literary chameleon Libba Bray will thrill readers of supernatural mysteries and historical novels alike." Teen Scene November 2012 newsletter http://www.nextreads.com/Display2.aspx?SID=5acc8fc1-4e91-4ebe-906d-f8fc5e82a8e0&N=565687